Atman sanskrit आत्म -
A word that originally meant "breath" or "soul" or "vital principle". As a cosmological principle or deity, Atman appears to be something like "universal soul" or "universal spirit."
The Atman is the true self of an individual. It is trapped by the body and released after death only to be reborn in the form of another organism.
It is described in the Candogya Upanisad as:
‘Smaller than a grain of rice is the Self; smaller than a grain of barley, smaller than a mustard seed, smaller than a canary seed, yea, smaller even than the kernel of a canary seed. Yet again is that Self, within the lotus of my heart, greater than the earth, greater than the heavens, yea, greater than all the worlds.’[[#_ftn1|[1]]]
[[#_ftnref1|[1]]] Candogya Upanisad “The Upanishads: Breath of the Eternal”, pp 64-65
The Self is the silent partner in all our deeds and experiences, the observer and the in dweller of all embodied beings. Its nature cannot be explained or described in human language adequately, as it is beyond the senses and the mind. "There the eyes cannot travel, nor speech, nor mind. Nor do we know how to explain it to the disciples. It is other than the known and beyond the unknown." (Taken from website http://www.hinduwebsite.com/atman.asp)
A word that originally meant "breath" or "soul" or "vital principle". As a cosmological principle or deity, Atman appears to be something like "universal soul" or "universal spirit."
The Atman is the true self of an individual. It is trapped by the body and released after death only to be reborn in the form of another organism.
It is described in the Candogya Upanisad as:
‘Smaller than a grain of rice is the Self; smaller than a grain of barley, smaller than a mustard seed, smaller than a canary seed, yea, smaller even than the kernel of a canary seed. Yet again is that Self, within the lotus of my heart, greater than the earth, greater than the heavens, yea, greater than all the worlds.’[[#_ftn1|[1]]]
[[#_ftnref1|[1]]] Candogya Upanisad “The Upanishads: Breath of the Eternal”, pp 64-65
The Self is the silent partner in all our deeds and experiences, the observer and the in dweller of all embodied beings. Its nature cannot be explained or described in human language adequately, as it is beyond the senses and the mind. "There the eyes cannot travel, nor speech, nor mind. Nor do we know how to explain it to the disciples. It is other than the known and beyond the unknown." (Taken from website http://www.hinduwebsite.com/atman.asp)